Thematically decorative hide-and-seek game

ABSTRACT

A thematically decorative hide and seek game includes a hideable component that is thematically consistent with a decorative motif, such as the Christmas holiday. A set of blocks is arranged to spell at least two words. The hideable component is displayed at a predetermined home base location proximately to the set of blocks. The set of blocks is arranged to spell the first word to indicate that the hideable component is ready to be hidden in plain sight. Upon hiding the hideable component in plain sight, the set of blocks is rearranged to spell out the second word at the home base to indicate that the hideable component has been hidden. Upon finding the hideable component, the hideable component is returned to the home base and the set of blocks is rearranged to spell the first word to indicate that the hideable component is ready to be hidden again.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to games, and particularly to games that are consistent with a decorative theme.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

People often adorn their homes for various holidays (e.g. Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, etc.) with decorations that are consistent with well-established themes for that holiday or holiday season. This can be particularly true when the home has young children as inhabitants or as frequent visitors. For example, people traditionally decorate their homes for Christmas with various traditional icons that reflect the Christmas theme, such as Christmas trees, garlands, angels, ornaments, Santa Clauses of various motifs, nativity scenes, elves, etc. The Easter holiday tradition inspires images of Easter eggs, Easter bunnies, baby chicks and perhaps general signs of Spring as well.

Games have been invented for teaching and promoting cognitive and other skills of young children, including reading and spelling, as well as simply finding or recognizing a particular shape or character, particularly when they are hidden somewhat in plain sight, but perhaps within a busy background. Teaching games can be both fun as well as instructive, and could be made particularly exciting when combined in a thematically consistent manner with the various holiday seasons celebrated throughout the year. These games would be fun for adults to play as well, especially when they can encourage the participation and success of young children participants, while indulging with them in the spirit and excitement of the current holiday season.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Applicant's invention is a thematically decorative hide and seek game that combines the fun of looking for and finding a hidden item, with the festive motif that is typically enjoyed during a given holiday. The game is fun for both children and adults, and provides the additional benefit of stimulating the minds of children to look for and identify a holiday character, while heightening the enjoyment of the holiday season. The hideable character blends in so well that it literally hides in plain sight among all of the other decorations in a room consistent with the given holiday motif. Moreover, blocks are employed to spell words that signify the status of the game, and which can serve to stimulate children to read and spell while playing the game, as well as to highlight the relationship between letters in two words, such as an anagram.

In accordance with various embodiments of the invention, a thematically decorative hide and seek game includes a hideable component that is thematically consistent with a decorative motif, and a set of blocks. Each block has an alphanumeric character displayed on at least one of its surfaces. The set of blocks is capable of being arranged to spell at least two words. The hideable component is first displayed at a predetermined home base location in conjunction with and proximately to the set of blocks. The set of blocks is arranged to spell the first word to indicate that the hideable component is ready to be hidden in plain sight. Upon hiding the hideable component in plain sight, the set of blocks is rearranged to spell out the second word at the home base to indicate that the hideable component has been hidden somewhere in plain sight and is waiting to be found. Upon finding the hideable component, the hideable component is returned to the home base and the set of blocks is rearranged to spell the first word to indicate that the hideable component is ready to be hidden again.

In further embodiments, the hideable component is a character that is thematically consistent with a holiday motif.

In further embodiments, the character is an elf and the holiday motif is Christmas.

In other embodiments, the hideable component is made of washable material.

In still further embodiments, the hideable component comprises means for attaching the hideable component to various surfaces and structures.

In further embodiments, the first word is a reverse anagram of the second word.

In still other embodiments, the first word is a name for the character and the second word is a word that is thematically consistent with the holiday motif.

In accordance with other aspects of the invention, a method of playing a thematically decorative hide and seek game includes placing a hideable component that is thematically consistent with a decorative motif in a proximate relationship at a predetermined home base with a set of blocks. Each block has an alphanumeric character displayed on at least one of its surfaces. The set of blocks is capable of being arranged to spell at least two words. The set of blocks is arranged to spell the first word to indicate that the hideable component is ready to be hidden in plain sight. The hideable component is hidden in plain sight. The set of blocks is then rearranged to spell out the second word at home base to indicate that the hideable component has been hidden in plain sight and is waiting to be found. Players search for the hideable component until found, and then return the hideable component to the home base. The set of blocks is then rearranged to spell the first word to indicate that the hideable component is ready to be hidden again.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Applicant's invention will be more fully understood with reference to the Detailed Description set forth below, in conjunction with the following figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention as it would be boxed for storage when not in use;

FIG. 2 is a view of the components of an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3A is a front view of the decorative component of an embodiment of the invention at a currently designated home base position, with spelling components of an embodiment of the invention adjacent thereto and configured to spell a first word indicating that the decorative component is present at the home base;

FIG. 3B is a front view of the currently designated home base, after the decorative component of an embodiment of the invention has been hidden, with spelling components of an embodiment of the invention arranged to spell a second word indicating that that the decorative component has been hidden and is waiting to be found;

FIG. 4 is a front view illustrating an example of how the decorative component of an embodiment of the invention can be hidden in plain sight among other decorations present in a home; and

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating the steps for playing an embodiment of the decorative hide and seek game of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an embodiment of the decorative hide and seek game 100 of the invention as it is packaged for sale and storage. While the embodiment illustrated is thematically consistent with the Christmas holiday, it will be recognized that other embodiments of the invention can be made thematically consistent with other holidays, such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, Easter, etc.

FIG. 2 illustrates a front view of two components of one embodiment of the decorative hide and seek game of the invention. Hideable component 202 is a festive elf thematically consistent with the Christmas holidays. Because hideable component 202 is thematically consistent with Christmas, it will be easier to hide festive elf 202 in plain sight among other decorative items in a room that are thematically consistent with the Christmas holiday. It will be recognized that hideable component 202 could be cast in other forms that are thematically consistent with the Christmas holiday, such as a Santa Claus, a reindeer, a snowman, etc. Other embodiments of the invention can be made thematically consistent with other holidays, and hideable component 202 would preferably be cast in a form thematically consistent with the holiday of the embodiment, such as a bunny for Easter, or a turkey for Thanksgiving.

The hideable component 202 is preferably made of materials that can withstand repeated handling, and especially by children. For example, component 202 could be made of washable cloth stuffed with a soft compressible material, or any other materials that are suitable for rendering the hideable component 202 suitable for repeated handling. In an embodiment, component 202 can also include various means by which it can be attached to or supported by various surfaces or structures, thereby increasing the ways and locations in which it can be hidden. Such means can include hooks, strings, Velcro, wire, etc., and functional equivalents thereof.

The second component of the decorative hide and seek game of the invention is a set of blocks 204 each having at least one letter displayed thereon. When playing the game of the invention, the set of blocks 204 is initially located at a home bass 300 in proximity with hideable component 202, as illustrated in FIG. 3A. When the two components of the game are so configured, the set of blocks is arranged to spell a first word to indicate that the game can begin whenever a first player decides to hide the hideable component 202. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3A, the first word is “NOEL,” to be consistent with a Christmas holiday theme. The set of blocks 204 can also be constructed of any material suitable for repeated handling, and particularly by children.

FIG. 3B illustrates home base 300 after a first player has hidden hideable component 202 to start the game. Upon initiating the game by hiding component 202, the first player must then rearrange the set of blocks 204 so that its letters spell a second word to indicate that hideable component 202 has been hidden and that other players are invited to find component 202. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the second word is LEON, which also serves as a name for the festive elf hideable component 202 of the illustrated embodiment. Once hideable component 202 has been located, the player who locates component 202 must return it to home base 300 and rearrange the blocks to spell out the first word once again.

While it is desirable that the first two words be anagrams of one another, this is not required. Given that each of the set of blocks has four surfaces upon which letters can be placed, the first and second words are not necessarily so constrained. In other embodiments, the letters for each word can be repeated on more than one surface of the blocks so that they can be a different color for each word. In other embodiments, the first and second word can be spelled by simply rotating the blocks to the opposite or a different surface, while maintaining them in the same order.

In an embodiment of the decorative hide and seek game of the invention, the hideable component 202 should be hidden in plain sight. Put another way, component 202 should not be hidden in a manner that obscures or conceals its presence, such as underneath blankets, pillows, etc. Rather, it is placed among other holiday decorations and furnishings within the room, where it can blend in with the thematic holiday decor. FIG. 4 illustrates festive elf hideable component 202 “hiding” in plain-sight among the other ornaments 404 adorning Christmas tree 402.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating the flow and general rules for playing the illustrated embodiment of the holiday hide-and-seek game. At block 502, the hideable component 202, in the form of Leon the festive elf, is placed at a predetermined home base 300 in proximity with the set of blocks 204. At block 504, the set of blocks 204 is configured to spell a first word, Noel, a reverse anagram of LEON. This indicates to players that Leon 202 is now ready to be hidden in plain-sight by a player. At block 506, a player hides Leon 202 in plane sight. At block 508, the player then arranges the set of blocks 204 to spell a second word, such as “LEON” to indicate that Leon has been hidden and is waiting to be found. This will also serve to invite inquiries from those not aware of the game in the nature of: “Who is LEON?” At block 510, another player “finds” Leon 202. The flow of the game then returns back to block 502, where Leon 202 is returned back to home base 300 and then to block 504 where the set of blocks is once again arranged so that its letters spell NOEL. The game continues on in this manner for as long as desired.

Those of skill in the art will recognize that other modifications and alterations could be made to the embodiments described above, without exceeding the intended scope of the invention. For example, a time constraint could be placed on the game that could range from minutes to days. The set of blocks could be made to spell other words in addition to a word thematically consistent with the intended holiday, or the name of the hideable character component. Moreover, as previously mentioned, other embodiments of the thematically decorative hide and seek game of the invention could be created having a hideable component character and first and second words all thematically consistent with other holidays or motifs. 

1. A thematically decorative hide and seek game comprising: a hideable component that is a character that is thematically consistent with a holiday motif, wherein the hideable component comprises means for attaching the hideable component to various surfaces and structures to facilitate hiding the elf; a set of blocks, each block having an alphabetical character displayed on at least one of its surfaces, the set of blocks capable of being arranged to spell at least two words, wherein the first word is a name for the character and the second word is a word that is thematically consistent with the holiday motif; wherein the hideable component is first displayed at a predetermined home base location in a proximate relationship to the set of blocks, the set of blocks arranged to spell the first word to indicate that the hideable component is ready to be hidden in plain sight; wherein upon hiding the hideable component in plain sight, the set of blocks is rearranged to spell out the second word at home base to indicate that the hideable component has been hidden somewhere in plain sight and is waiting to be found; and wherein upon finding the hideable component, the hideable component is returned to the home base and the set of blocks is rearranged to spell the first word to indicate that the hideable component is ready to be hidden again.
 2. (canceled)
 3. The thematically decorative hide and seek game of claim 2 wherein the character is an elf and the holiday motif is Christmas.
 4. The thematically decorative hide and seek game of claim 1 wherein the hideable component is made of plush and washable material.
 5. (canceled)
 6. The thematically decorative hide and seek game of claim 1 wherein the first word is a reverse anagram of the second word.
 7. (canceled)
 8. A thematically decorative hide and seek game comprising: a hideable Christmas elf, wherein: the hideable Christmas elf is made of plush and washable material; and the hideable Christmas elf comprises means for attaching the hideable Christmas elf to various surfaces and structures to facilitate its hiding; a set of blocks, each block having an alphabetical character displayed on at least one of its surfaces, the set of blocks capable of being arranged to spell at least two words, a first word being LEON and a second word being NOEL; wherein the hideable Christmas elf is first displayed at a predetermined home base location in conjunction with the set of blocks arranged to spell NOEL to indicate that the hideable Christmas elf is ready to be hidden in plain sight; wherein upon hiding the hideable Christmas elf in plain sight, the set of blocks is rearranged to spell LEON at home base to indicate that the hideable component has been hidden somewhere in plain sight and is waiting to be found; and wherein upon finding the hideable Christmas elf, the hideable Christmas elf is returned to the home base location and the set of blocks is rearranged to spell NOEL indicate that the hideable Christmas elf is ready to be hidden again.
 9. A method of playing a thematically decorative hide and seek game comprising: placing a hideable component that is thematically consistent with a decorative motif in a proximate relationship at a predetermined home base with a set of blocks, each block having an alphabetical character displayed on at least one of its surfaces, the set of blocks capable of being arranged to spell at least two words; arranging the set of blocks to spell the first word to indicate that the hideable component is ready to be hidden in plain sight; hiding the hideable component in plain sight; rearranging the set of blocks to spell out the second word at home base to indicate that the hideable component has been hidden in plain sight and is waiting to be found; searching for the hideable component until found; returning the hideable component to the home base; and rearranging the set of blocks to spell the first word to indicate that the hideable component is ready to be hidden again.
 10. The method of claim 9 wherein the hideable component is a Christmas elf and the decorative motif is Christmas.
 11. The method of claim 9 wherein the first word is NOEL and the second word is LEON.
 12. The method of claim 9 wherein the decorative motif is a holiday and the hideable component is a character associated with the holiday.
 13. The method of claim 9 wherein the hideable component comprises means for attaching the hideable component to surfaces and/or structures to facilitate hiding the hideable component in plain sight.
 14. The method of claim 9 wherein the hideable component is constructed of plush and washable materials suitable for repeated handling. 